Status Of Lx Codeshare

[whlinder]

With the news that LH is purchasing LX, it is almost certain that LX will become (yet another) member of the Star Alliance. New Star members can keep their existing codeshare relationships, such as South African keeping theirs with DL. However, LX will become part of the mothership of Star, by being owned by LH. Assuming LX wants to keep the AA codeshare/partnership, will AA also want to keep it?

A problem I forsee:
LX has their code on AA flights and vice versa. LX sees all sales by AA where they are an operating carrier on the ticket. LX also (obviously) has their sales when AA is an operating carrier on the ticket they sell.
LX becomes part of LH. LH can see everything it wants to see with LX, including data with AA sales. LH has transatlantic anti-trust immunity with UA and can share information with UA. Potentially, UA could see LX sales where AA operates a flight, and AA sales where LX operates a flight. UA also does westbound pricing for LH/UA. UA could be setting fares for LX coded, AA operated trans-atlantic flights.

Is this a realistic problem, and if so would it cause AA to drop the codeshare? The LX partnership can't be a major one to AA.

This has come up before with AF/KL merging, AF had immunity with DL and KL with NW. I believe the solution was for AF/KL to have immunity with both DL and NW, but I don't think DL and NW have it with each other. (How the intergrity of this agreement is maintained I will never understand.)

Long-term where is One-world going to get a central European hub? LX and ZRH was supposed to be it, but it looks like BA pissed that away. Will an alliance constrained by LHR and Bermuda II, with medicore hubs in MAD and HEL, prosper long-term for AA?

(I feel like my post with all the questions and coulds and woulds sounds like USA320 :blink

 

[JFK777]

All BA wanted from SWiss was slots at LHR. LHR is the hub for Europe for ONEWORLD. What ONEWORLD needs is more in Asia. JAL would great for ONEWORLD but the deleted seem to be the perpetual bridemaid.

 

[MAH4546]

The LX partnership can't be a major one to AA.

[post="255903"][/post]​

Actually, it is, and it is perhaps their strongest codeshare partnership with a European carrier. It benefits Swiss more than it benfits AA, so I would not be surprised to see it stay.

 

[eolesen]

LX wasn't a member of oneworld, so the loss is a lot smaller than you'd think. Their recent brush with insolvency is what caused them to back away from oneworld -- they couldn't afford the automation required to support membership.

Assuming LX becomes part of Star, you'll have a German, Austrian, Polish and Swiss carriers in the alliance. That's a lot of overlap in Central Europe.

This stuff happens all the time, but LX doesn't have access to a whole lot of our information.

 

[s80dude]

LX wasn't a member of oneworld, so the loss is a lot smaller than you'd think. Their recent brush with insolvency is what caused them to back away from oneworld -- they couldn't afford the automation required to support membership.

Assuming LX becomes part of Star, you'll have a German, Austrian, Polish and Swiss carriers in the alliance. That's a lot of overlap in Central Europe.

This stuff happens all the time, but LX doesn't have access to a whole lot of our information.

[post="255961"][/post]​

Many top tiers I speak with on the plane prefer oneworld because it is smaller and thus more defined. They say the Star Alliance is too big for it's own good and the is a lot of inconsistency between carriers.

 

[JFK777]

I find it sad that BA was so slot hungry in its veil of interest for Swiss. If BA and/or AA had purchased 10%, like they did in Iberia then Swiss might have had a fighting chance. Swiss grew out from a great airline, SwissAir.

Just think if they had purchased SWISSAIR's 20% interest in South African Airways how SAA would be a ONEWORLD airline and the anchor to a very lucrative Continent for ONEWORLD. South Africa's importance to BA is HUGE and also to Cathay and Qantas. IF AA had maintained the SAA codshare from the USA( there would still be Miami - Capetown Daily), BA with SAA the LHR - South Africa and all the rest; ONEWORLD would have in Africa what AA and Iberia give it in Latin America. Only if...

 

[fliboi78]

:down: